To honor the pioneering "leads" of Yoruba academic excellence in Black Africa, here is a sequence of sonnets for a selection of the first Yoruba professors across major scientific and educational disciplines.
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I. The Architect of History: Kenneth Dike
From Awka's roots to Ibadan's lecture halls, though Igbo still achieved greatness in Yoruba land
He broke the silence of a continent’s past.
No longer scripts within the colonial walls,
His "Trade and Politics" was built to last.
He saw the Niger’s flow as more than gold,
A vein of culture, sovereign and deep.
The stories that the griots long had told,
Were now for scholars and for sons to keep.
He was the first to wear the doctor's gown,
And lead the archive where our fathers spoke.
A pioneer who claimed a scholar’s crown,
And from the mind the heavy fetters broke.
In Dike’s wake, the African can stand,
With history’s torch within a steady hand.
II. The Father of Numbers: Adegoke Olubummo
In Ekiti, where the rocky mountains rise,
A mind was forged in logic’s sharpest flame.
He looked toward the vast and infinite skies,
And found the laws that numbers alone can name.
Before the world, Olubummo stood tall,
To map the spaces where the functions dwell.
The first to answer Mathematics’ call,
And break the silence of the classroom bell.
He taught the youth that truth is found in proof,
That Africa could measure time and space.
Under the Ibadan’s hallowed, ivory roof,
He gave the black man an academic face.
Though numbers fade, the logic still remains,
A legacy that flows through Yoruba veins.
III. The Healer of Nations: Theophilus Ogunlesi
From Sagamu, he brought the healing art,
To bridge the gap where life and science meet.
He studied every beat of Nigeria's heart,
And made the hospital a sacred seat.
The first to wear the stethoscope of state,
Professor Ogunlesi led the medical line.
He taught us that our health is not just fate,
But research, care, and discipline divine.
At University College, he set the pace,
For every surgeon, nurse, and doctor born.
He looked on every tired, weary face,
And promised healing with the coming morn.
A pioneer in white, he stands alone,
The first to make the art of health our own.
IV. The Mind of the Machine: Olu Longe
First Nigerian Professor of Computer Science
Before the screens were bright with digital light,
He saw the future in a coded stream.
He worked through every long and silent night,
To make the silicon follow the human dream.
The first to teach the computer's complex tongue,
In Ibadan, where the future first took root.
Olu Longe’s name in every lab is sung,
Where logic grows and bears its modern fruit.
From punch-cards to the networks we now use,
He was the pioneer who led the way.
He gave the youth the tools they could not lose,
To build the Africa of a brighter day.
The binary code, once strange and far away,
Became a Yoruba lead in his bold display.
V. The Teacher of Teachers: Aliu Babs Fafunwa
First Nigerian Professor of Education
He knew the tongue we spoke at mother’s knee,
Was where the light of learning first began.
"Teach in the language of the home," said he,
To form the character of the African man.
Babs Fafunwa, the sage of Isale-Eko,
Who saw that books must match our native soul.
His voice remains a clear and steady echo,
For every teacher reaching for the goal.
The first to hold the chair where minds are grown,
He redefined the path of school and heart.
The seeds of wisdom that his hands have sown,
Are now the leads of every educational art.
A professor of the soul, a guide for youth,
He led the nation toward its inner truth.
VI. The Earth’s Recorder: Mosobolaje Oyawoye
First Nigerian Professor of Geology
He read the stories written in the stone,
Of ancient shifts and minerals deep within.
In Offa, where the earth is best known,
He began the search where modern works begin.
Professor Oyawoye, master of the crust,
The first to map the wealth beneath our feet.
He taught us not to leave our gold to rust,
But make the African mining work complete.
He spoke of strata, fault, and tectonic might,
Revealing secrets that the mountains hide.
He brought the hidden riches into light,
With scientific rigor as his guide.
A pioneer of soil and rock and ore,
He opened wide the earth’s mysterious door.
( we honor more pioneering Yoruba professors who established the foundations of specialized sciences in Black Africa during the mid-20th century.)
VII. The Architect of Justice: Taslim Olawale Elias
First Nigerian Professor of Law (1966)
From Lagos shores to the Hague’s highest seat,
He wove the threads of custom and the code.
Where ancient truth and modern statutes meet,
He paved for Africa a legal road.
The first to chair the faculty of rights,
To prove that black men mastered every plea.
He spent his days and all his studious nights,
To set the captive mind of justice free.
Professor Elias, titan of the gown,
Who wrote the rules that sovereign nations wear.
He took the colonial law and tore it down,
To build a structure that was just and fair.
A lead in jurisprudence, sharp and deep,
A legacy the courts shall ever keep.
VIII. The Weaver of Atoms: Benjamin Osuntokun
First Nigerian Professor of Neurology
IX. The Sage of the Soil: Victor Oyenuga
First Nigerian Professor of Agriculture
He looked upon the green and fertile plain,
And saw the wealth within the yam and maize.
Could end the hunger of the coming days.
The first to hold the chair of farming’s art,
He taught the land to yield a richer store.
He mapped the dark cathedrals of the brain,
To find why nerves should fail or pulses cease.
He sought the hidden source of human pain,
And gave the weary mind a sense of peace.
In Ibadan, where the medical giants stood,
He traced the paths where thought and motion flow.
He proved that African science, great and good,
Could make the seeds of global knowledge grow.
A pioneer of the central nervous frame,
Whose research crossed the oceans and the seas.
He brought the Yoruba school a world-renowned name,
And cured the tremors of the soul's disease.
A lead in medicine, bright as morning light,
A scholar-healer in the African night.
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To continue the tribute to the pioneering "educational leads" of Yoruba academic heritage, here are six additional sonnets dedicated to the first Yoruba professors in other major scientific and professional disciplines.
VII. The Architect of Elements: Stephen Oluwole Awokoya
First Nigerian Professor of Chemistry (1946 degree pioneer)
In test tubes where the hidden atoms dance,
He sought the formula for a nation's rise.
He did not leave our progress up to chance,
But turned a chemist's gaze to African skies.
The first to master molecules and bonds,
He knew that science was a common key.
From Awa-Ijebu to the world beyond,
He taught that knowledge sets a people free.
As Minister, he built the schoolhouse door,
And made the "Universal" more than just a name.
The catalyst who opened up the floor,
For every youth to join the scholar’s game.
A life of logic, steeped in noble cause,
He mapped the world by nature’s hidden laws.
VIII. The Steward of the Soil: Victor Adenuga Oyenuga
First Nigerian Professor of Agriculture (1964)
From Ijebu-Ode, he turned to face the field,
To learn the secrets of the seed and sun.
He knew the wealth the African earth could yield,
If only modern science were begun.
The first to hold the Agriculture chair,
He mapped the nutrients in the tropic blade.
He made the farmer’s toil a grand affair,
And showed how hunger’s hand could be stayed.
The "Father of Science" in the Academy's hall,
He saw the forest and the farm as one.
He answered every urgent, hungry call,
Until the day of his long work was done.
An Emeritus of the earth, he stands in light,
Turning our golden harvest into sight.
IX. The Master of Motion: Ayodele Awojobi
First African DSc in Mechanical Engineering
They called him "Dead Easy," the Akoka giant,
Whose mind was faster than the gears he turned.
To colonial limits, he was never pliant,
But for the deepest mechanical truths he yearned.
In vibration's hum and the engine's steady roar,
He found the math that makes the metal sing.
He opened up a long-locked, heavy door,
To see what heights an African mind could wing.
At thirty-seven, a professor's chair he claimed,
The youngest to command the engineer's art.
With logic in his head and fire in his heart.
He showed that from the Yoruba's ancient line,
The finest modern engines could design.
X. The Pulse of the Planet: Muyiwa Awe
First Nigerian Professor of Physics
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To continue this poetic map of Yoruba academic pioneers, we look toward the specialists who defined chemistry, engineering, pharmacy, and the social sciences, establishing the "leads" for African industrial and social development.
XIII. The Alchemist of the Tropics: Olumbe Bassir
First Nigerian Professor of Biochemistry
He sought the secrets in the leaf and root,
The hidden chemistry of forest floor.
He turned his gaze to every native fruit,
To find what nutrients were held in store.
A pioneer of life’s molecular dance,
He studied how the body fights the ill.
He left no health or healing up to chance,
But harnessed science with a master’s will.
From West African soil to the global stage,
He proved that African life is complex gold.
He wrote the foundational and brilliant page,
Of secrets that the proteins had not told.
A lead in matter and the pulse of breath,
He studied life to stall the hand of death.
XIV. The Master Builder: Ifedayo Oladapo
First Nigerian Professor of Civil Engineering
He saw the bridges in his mind’s keen eye,
Before the steel was poured or concrete set.
He knew the strength that beneath the pillars lie,
To pay the nation’s infrastructure debt.
The first to chair the school of stone and beam,
He taught the physics of the rising tower.
He realized the young republic’s dream,
Of harnessing the river’s surging power.
A lead in structures, rigid, firm, and true,
He mapped the roads where commerce now resides.
He gave the youth a blueprint to pursue,
Against the shifting of the modern tides.
A pioneer of the city and the dam,
The architect of the Nigerian "I am."
XV. The Pharmacist of Tradition: Isaac Akinkugbe
First Nigerian Professor of Pharmacy
He took the wisdom of the herbalist’s bag,
And weighed it in the balance of the scale.
He did not let the ancient knowledge lag,
Or let the forest’s potent healing fail.
The first to lead the science of the pill,
In the laboratories where the solvents flow.
He brought the rigor of a scholar's skill,
To help the seeds of pharmacology grow.
He bridged the gap between the tree and glass,
Refining cures from bark and sacred leaf.
He allowed the light of pharmacy to pass,
To give the ailing nation swift relief.
A lead in medicine’s chemistry and art,
He placed the laboratory in the nation’s heart.
XVI. The Social Cartographer: Akin Mabogunje
First African Professor of Geography
He mapped the movement of the human feet,
From rural quiet to the city’s roar.
He saw the logic in the crowded street,
And opened up the urban planner’s door.
A pioneer of space and human place,
Who analyzed the growth of every town.
He saw the future of the Yoruba race,
In every wall that development pulled down.
The first to chart the geography of change,
He was a sage of land and social ties.
He brought the continent within his range,
With visionary and discerning eyes.
A lead in how we live and where we stand,
The master of the map of our dear land.
XVII. The Oracle of the State: Ojetunji Aboyade
First Nigerian Professor of Economics
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To continue the chronicle of Yoruba educational leads, here are sonnets for the pioneers of Veterinary Medicine, Botany, Political Science, Surgery, Civil Engineering, and Sociology.
XIII. The Guardian of the Flock: Adetokunbo Lucas
First Nigerian Professor of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
He looked beyond the individual's pain,
To see the health of every village street.
He knew that science, like the cleansing rain,
Must wash the ground where life and illness meet.
The first to lead the health of the entire state,
In Ibadan, where the tropical diseases hid.
He did not leave the common man to fate,
But did what modern medical pioneers did.
From WHO's high halls to the local pond,
He mapped the path of parasites and blight.
He formed a deep and educational bond,
Between the lab and the communal light.
A lead in prevention, bold and clear,
He chased away the shadow of the fevered fear.
XIV. The Scribe of the State: Billy Dudley
First Nigerian Professor of Political Science (UI)
He sought the logic in the ballot’s cast,
To find the structure of the African soul.
He knew the colonial shadows of the past,
Could not be used to reach a sovereign goal.
The first to chair the science of the state,
He parsed the power and the shifting tide.
He taught the youth that politics is fate,
Unless the laws of reason are the guide.
From "Scepticism and the Political Mind,"
He built a bridge where men and power meet.
A thinker of a rare and brilliant kind,
Who made the study of the nation-wide and sweet.
A lead in governance, sharp and profoundly wise,
He viewed the republic with a scholar's eyes.
XV. The Weaver of Structures: Ifedayo Oladapo
First Nigerian Professor of Civil Engineering (Lagos)
He saw the bridge before the steel was laid,
The weight of concrete and the tension's pull.
He knew the plans that engineers had made,
Must make the nation's rising future full.
The first to take the chair of structural might,
To build the roads where commerce learns to run.
He brought the hidden physics into light,
Under the heat of the West African sun.
He taught that buildings must endure the strain,
Of time and weather and the heavy load.
A pioneer who worked with heart and brain,
To pave the modern, academic road.
A lead in stone and iron, firm and grand,
The master builder of the Yoruba land.
XVI. The Botanist of Beauty: Eni Njoku
Though Igbo-born, he led the Yoruba school,
Where green and growing things are named and known.
He taught that nature has a rhythmic rule,
In every seed that in the soil is sown.
As the first to hold the chair of leaf and stem,
At Ibadan, he mapped the forest’s grace.
He saw the flora as a living gem,
The heritage of the entire African race.
He studied how the light becomes the fruit,
The secret life of every tropic tree.
First Nigerian Professor of Botany (Pioneer Lead at Ibadan)
To further the poetic record of these "educational leads," we honor the pioneers of the mid-20th century who established the foundations of microbiology, political science, and the specialized branches of engineering and surgical medicine.
XIX. The Sentinel of the Small: Samuel Adeloye
First Nigerian Professor of Neurosurgery
He ventured where the finest needles tread,
Within the skull, where thought and spirit lie.
He healed the trauma of the human head,
Under the gaze of a steady, watchful eye.
The first to chair the art of the brain’s repair,
He mapped the vessels and the hidden nerves.
He handled every life with sacred care,
With the precision that a soul deserves.
From Ibadan’s halls to global surgery's height,
He showed the world what Yoruba hands could do.
He brought the clouded mind back to the light,
With a courage that was disciplined and true.
A lead in healing at the edge of thought,
Through the many miracles his fingers wrought.
XX. The Sage of the Polity: Billy Dudley
First Nigerian Professor of Political Science
He weighed the power and the civic soul,
To find the balance of a nation’s weight.
He sought to make the fractured body whole,
Within the structures of the infant state.
The first to analyze the ballot’s power,
And how the chains of gov
XX. The Sage of the Polity: Billy Dudley
First Nigerian Professor of Political Science
He weighed the power and the civic soul,
To find the balance of a nation’s weight.
He sought to make the fractured body whole,
Within the structures of the infant state.
The first to analyze the ballot’s power,
And how the chains of governance are tied.
He stood within the academic tower,
With truth and logic as his only guide.
A pioneer of how a people choose,
To live as one beneath a common law.
He taught the youth they had too much to lose,
To ignore the cracks that only scholars saw.
A lead in justice and the public will,
Whose political vision guides the nation still.
XXI. The Master of the Invisible: Nathaniel Olowu
First Nigerian Professor of Microbiology
He looked into the glass to see the foe,
The tiny worlds that bring the body grief.
He learned the ways that secret viruses grow,
To bring the suffering nation quick relief.
The first to name the microbes of our air,
And study how the hidden plagues take root.
He made the invisible his constant care,
And brought the science to its healthy fruit.
A lead in safety and the war on blight,
He guarded every kitchen and the well.
He brought the microscopic into light,
And broke the power of the fever’s spell.
A pioneer of life we cannot see,
Who worked to set the African body free.
XXII. The Guardian of the Child: Olikoye Ransome-Kuti
First Nigerian Professor of Pediatrics
He saw the future in a mother’s arms,
And knew the nation starts with infant breath.
He worked to shield the small from winter’s harms,
And close the heavy doors of early death.
The first to make the child his only field,
He built the clinics in the village dust.
He knew that primary care would be the shield,
And placed in every home a sacred trust.
A lead in health that starts within the home,
He taught that salt and sugar save a life.
No matter where the modern doctors roam,
He remains the cure for poverty and strife.
A pioneer who loved the small and weak,
The finest lead of which the scholars speak.
XXIII. The Architect of Sound: Fela Sowande
First Nigerian Professor of Music
He took the drums of Africa’s ancient night,
And wove them into orchestral designs.
He brought the Yoruba melody to light,
Within the Western staff’s rigid lines.
The first to chair the music of the spheres,
He blended organ pipes with talking skin.
He washed away the academic fears,
That African song was not a scholar's kin.
A lead in harmony and the spirit’s cry,
He proved our music was a math of soul.
He reached for notes within the African sky,
To make the universal anthem whole.
A pioneer of the symphony and the chant,
The seeds of culture that his hands did plant.
XXIV. The Lord of Machines: Samuel Ayodele
First Nigerian Professor of Industrial Engineering
He saw the factory as a living thing,
Where efficiency and human effort meet.
He taught the gears of industry to sing,
And made the nation’s productivity sweet.
The first to map the systems of the floor,
Where labor turns to wealth and steady light.
He opened up the manufacturing door,
To end the shadow of the colonial night.
A lead in how we build and how we grow,
He optimized the work of every hand.
He made the rivers of production flow,
Across the reaches of the Yoruba land.
A pioneer of the engine and the crane,
Who turned our labor into national gain.
XXV. The Guardian of Sight: Oyinade Olurin
First Female Professor of Ophthalmology
She sought to mend the curtains of the eye,
To let the morning light come rushing in.
She would not let the clouded vision die,
Or let the shadows of the dark begin.
The first of daughters in the surgeon’s chair,
She mapped the lens and every hidden vein.
She handled every pupil with a care,
That eased the heavy weight of visual pain.
At Ibadan’s heights, she taught the art of sight,
To see the world in all its vivid hue.
She brought the blind back to the golden light,
With a steady hand and a spirit ever true.
A lead in vision, bright as any star,
Whose healing rays have traveled very far.
XXVI. The Scribe of the Soul: Wole Soyinka
First African Nobel Laureate (Literature/Comparative Studies)
He took the iron of Ogun’s sacred forge,
And hammered out the words of truth and fire.
Within the deep and dark political gorge,
He raised the music of a golden lyre.
The first to wear the Nobel’s laurel crown,
He lead the mind through myth and modern strife.
He tore the veils of the dictators down,
To celebrate the sanctity of life.
A lead in letters, drama, and the verse,
He made the Yoruba spirit globally known.
He spoke the blessing and the sacred curse,
From a literary and a scholar’s throne.
The "Interpreters" of our ancient, holy light,
He leads the way through the African night.
XXVII. The Healer of the Heart: Ayodele Falase
First Nigerian Professor of Cardiology
He listened to the rhythm of the chest,
The steady thrumming of the human drum.
He put the failing valves to every test,
To see from where the silent ailments come.
The first to lead the science of the heart,
He mapped the flow of life through every cell.
He turned the clinic to a sacred art,
To keep the nation’s pulse both strong and well.
A lead in medicine, deep and profoundly kind,
He guarded the fountain where our spirits beat.
With a brilliant and a disciplined mind,
He made the work of healing more complete.
A pioneer of the pump and of the vein,
He sought to end the burden of the pain.
XXVIII. The Keeper of the Past: Saburi Biobaku
First Nigerian Professor of African History (Lagos)
He gathered up the fragments of the tale,
The oral songs and the forgotten kings.
He would not let the Egba story fail,
Or lose the truth that deep tradition brings.
The first to chair the history of the land,
At Lagos, where the waters meet the shore.
He held the mirror in a steady hand,
To open wide the ancestral, heavy door.
A lead in knowing who we truly are,
He traced the lineage of the Yoruba race.
He followed every ancient, guiding star,
To find for Africa a hallowed place.
A pioneer of the record and the scroll,
The keeper of the nation’s inner soul.
XXIX. The Voice of the Word:
XXX. The Master of the Soil: Akolawole Freeborn
First Nigerian Professor of Forestry
He saw the cathedral in the iroko tree,
And measured the wealth within the timber’s grain.
He knew the forest was a sanctuary,
That held the secrets of the sun and rain.
The first to lead the science of the wood,
To plant the future where the giants grow.
He taught us that the land is great and good,
If we respect the rhythms that we know.
A lead in nature and the green expanse,
He guarded the canopy of the Yoruba land.
He did not leave the wilderness to chance,
But guided growth with a professional hand.
A pioneer of the leaf and of the root,
Who brought the forest to its scientific fruit.
He found the beauty in the Ijala chant,
The hunter’s music and the forest’s cry.
The seeds of linguistics he did plant,
Beneath the vast and ever-listening sky.
The first to bring the mother tongue to school,
And prove its grammar was a work of art.
He broke the old and the colonial rule,
To place the Yoruba in the scholar’s heart.
A lead in poetry and the spoken sound,
He saved the oral treasures from the dust.
On hallowed and on academic ground,
He held the language as a sacred trust.
A pioneer of the breath and of the tone,
He made our native brilliance widely known.
XXXI. The Architect of the Smile: Simi Johnson
First Nigerian Female Professor of Dentistry
She saw the health within the hidden bone,
The ivory gates that guard the human breath.
A pioneer who stood, at first, alone,
To save the mouth from decay and from death.
The first to lead the dental scholar's chair,
She mapped the nerves beneath the silver gum.
With steady hand and a maternal care,
She saw the healing of the nation come.
A lead in hygiene and the surgeon’s art,
She taught that wellness starts within the face.
She held a mirror to the nation’s heart,
And brought a brightness to the Yoruba race.
A pioneer of the grin and of the light,
Who made the African smile a brilliant sight.
XXXII. The Master of the Law: Adetokunbo Ademola
First Nigerian Chief Justice and Legal Pioneer
He wore the wig not as a foreign mask,
But as a shield for every common man.
He took upon himself the heavy task,
To build the justice of a sovereign clan.
The first to lead the highest court of all,
He balanced custom with the written code.
He stood within the constitutional hall,
To pave for Africa a legal road.
A lead in equity and the steady hand,
Who proved that logic has no skin or hue.
He stood as the sentinel of the land,
With a vision that was disciplined and true.
A pioneer of the gavel and the gown,
The first to wear the judge’s hallowed crown.
XXXIII. The Chemist of Life: Gabriel Osuide
First Nigerian Professor of Pharmacology
He weighed the powder and the liquid flame,
To find the cure within the chemist’s glass.
He gave the African laboratory a name,
And let the light of modern healing pass.
The first to chair the science of the pill,
He studied how the blood accepts the cure.
He harnessed every academic skill,
To make the nation’s medicines more pure.
A lead in dosage and the safety's line,
He bridged the gap between the tree and ward.
He saw the chemistry as a design,
In harmony with nature’s healing chord.
A pioneer of the pharmacy and the soul,
Who worked to make the broken body whole.
XXXIV. The Sage of the Market: Samuel Aluko
First Nigerian Professor of Economics (Applied)
He counted not the gold of distant kings,
But measured the wealth within the peasant’s hand.
He knew the progress that a market brings,
To the dusty soil of his native land.
The first to lead the science of the trade,
With a voice that spoke for every common man.
The fiscal foundations of the state he laid,
Within the borders of the African plan.
A lead in value and the nation’s growth,
He was the oracle of the poor and weak.
He held a sacred and a scholar’s oath,
Of the prosperity of which we speak.
A pioneer of the budget and the goal,
He placed the economy in the nation’s soul.
XXXV. The Voice of the Air: Christopher Kolade
First Nigerian Professor of Corporate Governance/Media Lead
XXXI. The Architect of the Smile: Simi Johnson
First Nigerian Female Professor of Dentistry
She saw the health within the ivory gate,
Where speech and nourishment begin their flow.
She did not leave the nation’s teeth to fate,
But taught the science that the healers know.
The first to lead the school of drill and light,
To mend the bone and make the spirit clear.
She brought the dental arts into the sight,
Of every student, through each studious year.
A lead in wellness and the surgeon’s grace,
She cared for the portal of the human breath.
She brought a shining to the Yoruba face,
And warded off the silent germs of death.
A pioneer of the mouth’s complex design,
She made the beauty of the nation shine.
XXXII. The Master of the Ancient: Bassey Andah
First Nigerian Professor of Archaeology (Yoruba academic lead)
He dug beneath the dust of Owo’s plains,
To find the terracotta and the stone.
He sought the truth within the deep remains,
Of ancestors whose names were barely known.
The first to chair the science of the spade,
He read the soil like a sacred, dusty book.
The foundations of our heritage he laid,
In every trench and every hidden nook.
A lead in time, reaching across the vast,
To prove that Africa was built of old.
He reclaimed the greatness of our buried past,
And turned the earthen shards to scholar’s gold.
A pioneer of the trowel and the site,
Who brought our ancient cities back to light.
XXXIII. The Chemist of Industry: Olumuyiwa Awe
First Nigerian Professor of Industrial Chemistry
He turned the laboratory to the mill,
To synthesize the wealth of African oil.
He brought the rigor of a master’s skill,
To ease the burden of the nation’s toil.
The first to bridge the beaker and the vat,
He taught the youth to manufacture change.
In the hallowed halls where the professors sat,
He brought the elements within our range.
A lead in catalysts and polymers’ dance,
He sought to fuel the rising factory’s fire.
He did not leave development to chance,
But lifted the national production higher.
A pioneer of the substance and the flame,
Who gave the Yoruba chemist a global name.
XXXIV. The Sage of the Soul: Bolaji Idowu
First Nigerian Professor of Religious Studies
He saw the "Olodumare" in the light,
The God of heaven in the Yoruba mind.
He chased away the colonial, dark night,
To show the faith that bound the human kind.
The first to lead the study of the creed,
And place tradition on a scholar’s throne.
He planted a deep and philosophical seed,
To make our spiritual essence truly known.
A lead in divinity and the sacred word,
He heard the echoes of the ancient prayer.
His voice was like a bell that all men heard,
Proclaiming that the Divine was everywhere.
A pioneer of the spirit and the thought,
The wisdom that the holy elders taught.
XXXV. The Voice of the Air: Christopher Kolade
Pioneer Professor of Corporate Leadership and Media
He mastered the waves that travel through the air,
To bring the news to every hearth and home.
He handled the nation’s voice with sacred care,
Across the land and beneath the azure dome.
A lead in ethics and the speaker’s art,
He taught that truth is the only steady ground.
He placed integrity in the scholar’s heart,
In every broadcast and in every sound.
The first to chair the leadership of state,
With a grace that turned the office to a school.
He did not leave the public mind to fate,
But governed by the scholar’s golden rule.
A pioneer of the message and the screen,
The finest lead the nation has ever seen.
XXXVI. The Keeper of the Child: Adetokunbo Lucas
First Nigerian Professor of Tropical Medicine and Health
He looked at the fever in the infant’s skin,
And traced the path of the mosquito’s wing.
He knew the battle that the state must win,
To hear the children of the village sing.
A lead in prevention and the public well,
He mapped the map of health for all to see.
He broke the power of the sickness' spell,
To set the future of the nation free.
The first to chair the science of the crowd,
He brought the vaccine to the furthest gate.
He spoke the truth of healing clear and loud,
And changed the trajectory of our fate.
A pioneer of the pulse and of the plan,
The doctor of the common African man
XXXVII. The Architect of the Map: Akin Mabogunje
First African Professor of Geography (1968)
He looked upon the sprawl of Lagos streets,
And saw the logic in the human flow.
Where the village and the urban centers meet,
He taught us how the modern cities grow.
The first to chair the science of the land,
He mapped the heartbeat of the African town.
With a visionary and a steady hand,
He pulled the walls of ignorance far down.
A lead in space, in region, and in place,
He was the oracle of the city’s soul.
He saw the future of the Yoruba race,
And worked to make our urban planning whole.
A pioneer of the compass and the chart,
Who placed the map within the nation’s heart.
XXXVIII. The Master of the Brush: Ben Enwonwu
Though as Igbo First Nigerian Professor of Fine Arts (Ife) still he achieved it in the great Yoruba institution
He saw the spirit in the bronze and wood,
The "Anyanwu" rising in the morning sun.
He understood that art is great and good,
When the work of the soul is finally begun.
The first to wear the artist’s academic gown,
He wove the ancient with the modern line.
He took the colonial image and tore it down,
To make the African aesthetic shine.
A lead in beauty and the rhythmic form,
He sculpted the grace of the Yoruba face.
He was the calm within the cultural storm,
The finest image of our noble race.
A pioneer of the vision and the hand,
Who painted the glory of our native land.
XXXIX. The Healer of the Home: Kofoworola Pratt
First Nigerian Professor of Nursing/Chief Nursing Lead
She saw the hospital as a sacred room,
Where cleanliness and kindness are the law.
She chased away the shadow and the gloom,
In every suffering soul that she once saw.
The first to lead the school of lamp and white,
She brought the Florence Nightingale to our shore.
She was the sentinel in the middle night,
Who opened up the professional, heavy door.
A lead in care, in patience, and in breath,
She taught the science of the mending heart.
She warded off the heavy hands of death,
With a maternal and a disciplined art.
A pioneer of the ward and of the bed,
By whom the nation’s healers were all led.
XL. The Sage of the Earth: Mosobolaje Oyawoye
First Nigerian Professor of Geology (1966)
He read the stories in the ancient stone,
The strata of the billion years of gold.
He made the secrets of the basement known,
The tales that the Precambrian rocks have told.
The first to chair the science of the crust,
He mapped the riches beneath the Yoruba soil.
He taught the youth to turn the sand and dust,
Into the fruits of intellectual toil.
A lead in minerals and the tectonic might,
He was the geologist of the African deep.
He brought the hidden treasure into light,
With a promise that he chose to keep.
A pioneer of the hammer and the ore,
Who opened wide the earth’s mysterious door.
XLI. The Oracle of Justice: Kayode Eso
Pioneer Legal Scholar and Supreme Court Justice
He saw the law as a living, breathing thing,
A shield for the weak against the tyrant’s hand.
He made the bells of human rights to ring,
Across the reaches of the Yoruba land.
A lead in equity and the bold decree,
He was the conscience of the hallowed bench.
He sought to set the shackled spirit free,
With a thirst for truth that power could not quench.
The first to define the "Mystery Gunman’s" role,
And stand for justice in the heat of strife.
He held the mirror to the nation’s soul,
To guard the sanctity of human life.
A pioneer of the gavel and the light,
The champion of the legal and the right.
XLII. The Chemist of the Cell: Olumbe Bassir
First Nigerian Professor of Biochemistry
He looked into the microscopic deep,
To see the atoms of the African life.
He had a sacred watch he chose to keep,
Against the molecules of illness and of strife.
The first to lead the science of the gene,
And study how the proteins form our frame.
He saw the wonders that are rarely seen,
And gave the Yoruba laboratory a name.
A lead in nutrition and the life’s design,
He found the chemistry in the native root.
He saw the elements as a sign,
That brought the science to its healthy fruit.
A pioneer of the beaker and the breath,
Who studied life to stall the hand of death.
XLIII. The Master of the Machine: Ayodele Awojobi
Youngest DSc in Mechanical Engineering/Professor
They called him "Dead Easy" for his brilliant mind,
Which solved the gears of vibration and of heat.
A scholar of a rare and fearless kind,
Who made the study of the metal sweet.
The first to take the engineer’s high chair,
In Lagos, where the engines learn to roar.
He handled logic with a lightning care,
And opened wide the technological door.
A lead in motion and the rigid beam,
He was a titan of the mathematical thought.
He realized the young republic’s dream,
Through the many wonders that his genius wrought.
A pioneer of the turbine and the wheel,
Who turned the Yoruba spirit into steel.
XLIV. The Guardian of the Mind: Tolani Asuni
First Nigerian Professor of Criminology/Forensic
